Fairy Tales: RoM Shorts
by CelticKitsune
Summary: Short side stories in the Restoration of Magic Universe.


AN: Fairy Tales is a set of short stories that are part of the Restoration of Magic Universe, which do not fit within the main story.

This first short is in two parts, and looks at how it all began for Neville and Harry.

And a huge thank you to Emily for Beta reading this for us as well! 3

Ajal: Ah-jal

Kaylin: Kay-lin

 **Neville**

 _August 1981_

Ajal stood in the same spot as he had nearly every night for the last year, since he had been given his new target, the young child belonging to two law enforcers of the wizarding world. The more he observed these people, and saw how much they cared for not only their own child but also other children who had already been brought to the Fae city, the more Ajal regretted what he would have to do.

He couldn't stop the pang of guilt he felt, knowing that this was the last night the boy would see his parents. But that guilt was easily pushed away, just like every other time, because he knew that this was necessary. These people, as nice as they may be, had no respect for magic; they used it as if it should obey their commands, tried to force it to bend to their will, and though Ajal knew that these later generations only did that because they didn't know any better, it was still difficult to watch.

Invoking the magic that would make him invisible to the family inside, Ajal silently apparated, appearing in the corner of the sitting room, where he watched the woman play with her son.

Alice looked up when she felt a slight breeze go through the room. It was something she had gotten used to in the past year, and even though she and her husband, Frank, both had looked for where that strange draft was coming from, neither of them had found it. "A new oddity for the house," Frank had said, and they left it at that.

"Ma!" Neville cried out, demanding her attention again, and Alice smiled down at her son.

"Yes, Neville? What is it?" she asked, and watched as her son pointed at something. "What is it, sweetie?" Alice asked, looking back at Neville, who was smiling widely, still looking into the same corner. "There's nothing there, sweetie," Alice said, smiling as she picked her son up. "Come on; it's bath time," she said, and started carrying Neville out of the sitting room.

Ajal remained where he was, letting out a small sigh when he heard Neville start screaming as he knew the child would. The bonds that he created with these children were strong, slowly channeling magic into them from the day they were born, getting them used to how proper magic should feel. It took close to a year to complete the process properly, to the point where the children would need to be around Fae magic almost constantly, as all other magic would feel as wrong to them, as it did to all Fae.

Ajal closed his eyes; he could still hear Neville shrieking from upstairs as his mother tried to bathe him. Ajal let this continue for a few minutes, and he knew that tonight was the night; he had to remove Neville from this house. Looking over at the clock, Ajal frowned at the late hour; he had wanted the boy's father to come home, as these people were truly good, misguided yes, but still good, and Ajal had wanted Neville's parents to have one last night with him.

But he had already waited as long as he could; the hour slowly ticked by and Neville's screams had long since stopped as the child had tired himself out and would most likely be sleeping now. As the clock chimed on the hour, Ajal apparated himself upstairs, following the bond he had with Neville; however, he did not appear in the babe's room as he had expected, instead the witch had taken her son into her room.

Neville was fast asleep, and Alice looked as if she were well on her way to be sleeping as well. Ajal knew he should probably wait for Neville to be put into his cot, as he had for every child before him, but he still moved forward, gently removing the sleeping baby from his mother's arms.

"Hmm, Frank?" Alice questioned, opening her eyes and looking up, only to freeze.

Ajal also froze where he was, Neville cradled gently in his arms as he stared at the woman, who had her eyes locked on him for a moment, before they slowly drifted down to look at Neville.

"NO!" Alice shouted standing and making a grab for her wand.

"That silly stick will do you no good against me, Witch," Ajal said, backing up a few paces away from the woman. He was momentarily tempted to just leave, but he had to first deal with what this woman now knew. "And would you truly risk hurting your son with your barbaric magic?" he challenged.

"Who are you?" Alice demanded, her hand still clenched tightly around her wand.

"Have the magical folk of this world truly strayed so far that they do not recognise us when you can see us?" Ajal questioned. "I am a creation of magic herself, my ancestors gifted your kind with magic," he said, wondering if this woman would even know what he was talking about. But he smiled when he noticed a small spark of recollection in her eyes. "Now do you know who I am?"

"...Fae…" Alice whispered in surprise. "What do you want with my son?" she asked, sounding almost fearful; there had been so many stories and legends about the Fae that it was hard to figure out if any of them were true.

"Your son is one of the chosen, that is all you need to know," Ajal said, looking down at the still sleeping child, glancing once again to Alice. "I will allow you to say your goodbyes; this is more than has been offered to anyone else," Ajal told her, and against his better judgment he approached the woman.

Alice stared at him, and then looked at Neville. "Say goodbye?" she asked, still unsure of what was happening, but she did know one thing, she wasn't going to let anyone, not even the Fae, take her only child away from her. So as Ajal stepped closer, Alice waited for the right moment and grabbed Neville away from him, turning and running for the door clutching Neville close. The sudden movement woke Neville, and he started crying from being suddenly jostled around.

"Foolish woman!" Ajal shouted. He did not give chase. There was no need, as with a wave of his hand, Alice's body locked in place, and she was unable to move. He walked over to her and took Neville from her arms once again; the blanket, which had been wrapped around Neville, slipping away, as Alice still had that clutched tightly in her hands. Ajal took his time to calm the crying child, well aware of the hateful glare Alice was giving him.

"You shall not speak of this to anyone. Should you try, your words will be lost," Ajal reached up and placed a hand on Alice's forehead, willing the magic to flow into her. He could feel her trembling under his hand, and still he pushed, locking the magic in place. The amount of effort it would take to remove the spell would surely cause the woman to go insane.

Ajal removed his hand, and didn't spare her another look as he apparated away with Neville held close to his chest. As he vanished, that gentle breeze blew through the room again causing a shiver to run through Alice as Ajal's magic released her, as she was left in her room holding nothing but the blanket that Neville had been wrapped up in only moments before.

 **Harry**

December 1980 - January 1981

Kaylin frowned as she watched the group of people before her. Strictly speaking she shouldn't even be this close to the adults, as her job was to stay close to the sleeping child who was currently upstairs in his cot. However, the raised voices had drawn her downstairs, and she was now listening in on the current plans that had her worried.

"We can't just pack up and leave like that," James said, and Kaylin could feel how upset the child's father was about the very idea of leaving; both parents were radiating fear.

"Then you can stay here, but I'm taking Harry with me," Lily argued back, her own temper rising.

"Lily-"

"No, you listen to me, James," Lily cut him off. "Voldemort is after us. We don't have many options at the moment. If it was just the two of us, I would be all for staying, making a plan, setting a trap, but I will not put Harry's life in danger like that."

James let out a long sigh closing his eyes and nodding. "I know, Lily, I want you and Harry safe as well; I don't like the idea of just leaving though. We have friends that can protect us, can protect Harry," James said, looking at Lily, who nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm not saying we need to cut ties with everyone and just run away," Lily reassured him. "But I do think that we need to be careful with who we trust right now."

James nodded. "I know who I can trust," he said confidently.

Kaylin shook her head and left the room, going back upstairs to baby Harry's room. She really didn't like the sound of that conversation. She had known about the madman who called himself Voldemort. All of the Fae coming into the wizarding world had been warned about him, especially those that would be working in close proximity to some of that man's followers. Those Fae had to take extra care.

Kaylin had been fortunate enough to be given easy targets, until now. Harry's parents were alright enough, for humans, but they were a huge part in the war that was going on, which made them near constant targets and, as a result of this, Harry's life was also in danger. Because of this Kaylin had been tempted more than once to just take Harry and leave, but it was far too early for him to go to the Fae city.

Her bond with him had been established, but it was nowhere near complete, and with the discussion she just heard, she now knew that she did not have much time to finish. If they went into hiding with baby Harry, it might become difficult for her to find or reach him. Kaylin was sure their wards would be unable to keep her out indefinitely, but she worried she might damage whatever protective wards the Potters would put in place. While she didn't particularly like any of the witches or wizards, she didn't want to cause the death of any of them either.

Only taking a moment to debate with herself, she reached down, gently stroked the soft cheek of the sleeping baby. Her mind made up, Kaylin began to channel more of her magic into Harry's small body. It wasn't ideal, but if she did this quickly and quietly, she could have him ready by the end of the week.

Harry squirmed in slight discomfort, letting out a small whine as he opened his eyes to blink up at Kaylin. She could feel the babe's confusion and a hint of fear, but she knew it was for the odd sensation, rather than of her.

"Shh, it's okay, little one," she said smiling, hoping to offer him a measure of comfort. "Everything is going to be okay," she reassured him, still pushing more magic forward through their small bond.

She let this go on for a few minutes, before slowly easing back on the magic and allowing Harry to settle, feeling his emotions calm as she did so. Glancing toward the door, Kaylin waved her hand toward the door making sure that it was locked before she gently lifted Harry out of his cot, cradling him close to her chest.

"You are such a tiny thing," she said softly, gently rocking Harry, who continued staring up at her with his bright green eyes. "But don't you worry, you will be taken care of, and no one will be after you any more," she promised, continuing to rock Harry until his eyes started closing, and he fell asleep again.

-x

Kaylin's estimated time had been correct, in less than a week, she had formed the necessary bond with Harry and she knew it was time. She waited until the boy had been put to bed before casting a sleeping spell on both the parents, and vanishing with Harry to the Fae city. James and Lily Potter would not find their son missing until morning.

One thing Kaylin did not anticipate was how much trouble she was going to be in for taking a child so young. Holding the small bundle close to her, she walked into the Council Halls, heading straight for the room where the High Council was currently gathered.

"Kaylin, what are you doing here?" Itham questioned, standing from his seat when he saw her walk in. "You are not due back here for another six months; has something happened?" he questioned.

"Yes, something has happened, and it forced me to act quickly," Kaylin said, looking down when the bundle she held let out a soft whine and started wiggling.

"Is that the child you were put in charge of?" Tinasia questioned, narrowing her eyes at the small bundle of blankets.

"It is," Kaylin informed her. She could both feel and hear the Councilwoman's displeasure, but kept her eyes on Harry as she gently shushed him back to sleep. "Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was forced to act sooner than planned," she explained, keeping a firm hold on the child as she explained the reasons behind her actions.

"This is unacceptable!" Tinasia snapped. "You should have contacted us before now."

"With all due respect, I was given very little time to prepare. I only heard that the family was planning on going into hiding a week ago. There was no time to contact you, and if I did not remove the child, then he maybe have become lost to us, and we would have had to find another," Kaylin explained.

"You may believe you have done the right thing," Arnaldo said with detached calm, "that you have saved this boy from a horrible fate, but you have condemned him to death regardless."

"You can not mean to leave this child unattended," Kaylin exclaimed, pulling young Harry closer to her, as though afraid that he would be snatched from her arms and tossed aside, or worse, given a swift death so that he would not suffer. Kaylin searched out the man's feelings, but Arnaldo seemed truly to care nothing for the young child in her arms.

"We do not have the means to care for one so young," Rosario explained, with at least a degree of remorse. "While your intentions were good, Arnaldo is correct. You may have condemned this child to a far worse fate than what awaited him back in the World of Wizards."

"I was put in charge of him, to care for him, to prepare him so that I could bring him to this city. There must be someone who would be willing to nurse him," Kaylin implored, looking at the four Elders.

"In the time that it takes us to search, it may be too late for the child," Itham said, standing up and frowning when Kaylin took half a step back. "But that does not mean we will not try," he said, hoping that his words would reassure her.

"We will do what we can for the child," Rosaria said with a nod. "But we must be prepared for the worst," she said, watching as Itham moved forward. Kaylin opened herself fully for the moment, letting out a sigh of relief when she felt concern from Itham, and curiosity.

"They named him Harry. And I do know that his mother was talking of giving him some solid foods," Kaylin said as she stepped forward, deciding to trust Itham with Harry. Itham smiled.

"Then we shall do the same," Itham promised her, taking Harry from Kaylin. He moved the blanket away from the sleeping baby's face. "He is so small, smaller than any child we currently have here," he said.

"You may leave now, Kaylin," Tinasia said. Kaylin hesitated a moment, before nodding giving a small bow to the elders before she left the room.

Itham returned to his own seat, allowing Rosario to inspect the child as well. "We do not have anything ready for this child. Kaylin truly has caused a bit of trouble with this," she commented, as she ran a finger over Harry's cheek.

"We will speak with the other Council members, perhaps Elmon will be able to find a place for the child," Arnaldo said, reaching forward to a piece of parchment that was on the table in front of him. He wrote a quick message on it, and watched as the ink vanished once he was done.

"For now, Itham, you will watch over the child," Arnaldo ordered. Itham only nodded, knowing that this was most likely to be the outcome, as he had had the most interaction with the wizarding children so far. As he looked down at the infant, Harry, in his arms, he found he did not object to the task.


End file.
